Publication: Diversidad y especificidad de simbiontes en aves neotropicales
Loading...
Files
Official URL
Full text at PDC
Publication Date
2017-05-26
Authors
Advisors (or tutors)
Editors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Citations
Exportar
Abstract
¿Por qué hay tanta variación en la especificidad? La mayoría de los simbiontes (parásitos, mutualistas, comensales) son especialistas, i.e. han especializado su estilo de vida en una especie hospedadora, mientras otros son muy generalistas interactuando con muchas especies hospedadoras. En la presente tesis, queremos identificar determinantes históricos y ecológicos de la especificidad de parásitos sanguíneos y virus en aves Neotropicales. Los trópicos proveen un escenario ideal para explorar las relaciones entre especificidad y la diversidad de hospedadores, ya que lo último podría gobernar la evolución de la especificidad a través de los efectos de dilución e amplificación. A escala ecosistémica la especificidad también está determinada por la historia coevolutiva de hospedadores y simbiontes, ya que la coespeciación mantiene la especialización, y los cambios de hospedadores promueven la evolución de simbiontes generalistas. Estudiaremos el efecto de estos procesos históricos en la evolución de la especificidad de parásitos sanguíneos, Avipoxvirus y CRESS (circular rep-encoding single stranded) DNA virus. A escala interespecífica nos enfocaremos en los colibríes, cuyos parámetros sanguíneos ofrecen un nicho único para los parásitos sanguíneos. El concepto de la especialización ecológica es equivalente a la especialización en el nicho ecológico para las especies en general, y es importante para entender la arquitectura de las redes hospedador-parasito y cómo ocurre la diversificación. Como hemos trabajado en áreas neotropicales poco exploradas, una gran parte de la tesis esta también dedicada al biodescubrimiento, lo cual está presentado por la caracterización de nuevas especies de parásitos sanguíneos, cepas de Avipoxvirus, y genomas de CRESS DNA virus. En general, los análisis de la especificidad de los simbiontes aportarán al descubrimiento de nuevas especies e interacciones simbióticas, dando una oportunidad excelente para mejorar nuestro conocimiento sobre la evolución de relaciones hospedadoras-parásitos en ambientes megadiversos...
Why is there such variation in host specificity? Most symbionts (parasites, mutualists, commensals) are specialist, i.e. they have specialized their lifestyle in one single host species, while others are generalist interacting with many host species. In this thesis, we aim to identify historical and ecological determinants of host specificity in avian blood parasites and viruses in Neotropical birds. The tropics provide an ideal scenario to explore the relationship between host specificity and host diversity, as the latter could govern the evolution of host specificity through dilution and amplification effects. At the ecosystem scale host range is also determined by the coevolutionary history of hosts and symbionts, where strict cospeciation maintains specialization, and host-switching promotes the evolution of generalist symbionts. We will study the influence of these historical processes on the evolution of host specificity of avian blood parasites, avipoxviruses and CRESS (circular rep-encoding single stranded) DNA viruses. At the interspecific scale we will focus on hummingbirds, whose particular blood features offer a unique niche for blood parasites. The concept of ecological specialization of symbionts is equivalent to niche specialization of free living species, and is crucial to understand the architecture of host parasite networks and how species diversification takes place. Since we worked in underexplored tropical areas, the thesis is also focused towards biodiscovery, which is presented by the characterization of new blood parasite species, Avipoxvirus strains and CRESS DNA viruses. Taken together, this comprehensive analysis of symbiont host specificity will contribute to the discovery of new species and symbiotic lifestyles, giving an excellent opportunity to improve our understanding on the evolution of host-symbiont interactions in megadiverse environments...
Why is there such variation in host specificity? Most symbionts (parasites, mutualists, commensals) are specialist, i.e. they have specialized their lifestyle in one single host species, while others are generalist interacting with many host species. In this thesis, we aim to identify historical and ecological determinants of host specificity in avian blood parasites and viruses in Neotropical birds. The tropics provide an ideal scenario to explore the relationship between host specificity and host diversity, as the latter could govern the evolution of host specificity through dilution and amplification effects. At the ecosystem scale host range is also determined by the coevolutionary history of hosts and symbionts, where strict cospeciation maintains specialization, and host-switching promotes the evolution of generalist symbionts. We will study the influence of these historical processes on the evolution of host specificity of avian blood parasites, avipoxviruses and CRESS (circular rep-encoding single stranded) DNA viruses. At the interspecific scale we will focus on hummingbirds, whose particular blood features offer a unique niche for blood parasites. The concept of ecological specialization of symbionts is equivalent to niche specialization of free living species, and is crucial to understand the architecture of host parasite networks and how species diversification takes place. Since we worked in underexplored tropical areas, the thesis is also focused towards biodiscovery, which is presented by the characterization of new blood parasite species, Avipoxvirus strains and CRESS DNA viruses. Taken together, this comprehensive analysis of symbiont host specificity will contribute to the discovery of new species and symbiotic lifestyles, giving an excellent opportunity to improve our understanding on the evolution of host-symbiont interactions in megadiverse environments...
Description
Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, leída el 15-07-2016